Greatest Commandment Helps Believers

The Torah (first five books of the Bible) contains 613 commandments for God’s people to follow. Rabbis would discuss which ones were most important. One of the scribes… asked Him, “What commandment is the foremost of all?” Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘Hear, O Israel! Yehovah our God is one Lord; and you shall love Yehovah your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength’” (Mark 12:27-30). This portion of the commandment contains four elements with which we are to love God.

The heart refers to our emotions, the mind to our intellect, the soul to our eternal moral being and human psychological character and strength to our physical condition. We are not to give any portion of these aspects of our life to anyone or anything else. In obeying this commandment, we honor God and we benefit ourselves. They represent the four pillars by which we live the Christian life.

Satan attacks God’s people in each of these areas of life. When we are attacked in one area, we must lean on the others to see us through the trial or temptation.

HEART: For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods; and his heart was not wholly devoted to Yehovah his God (1 Kings 11:4). Solomon’s “love” for his wives caused him to compromise his love for God and not be fully devoted to Yehovah.

MIND: And he (satan) said to the woman, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’? …You surely will not die!’” Satan challenged Eve’s knowledge of what God had said. Her mind chose to believe satan’s lie and not what she knew to be true.

SOUL: “If, instead, you reject My statutes, and if your soul abhors My ordinances so as not to carry out all My commandments, … I will appoint over you a sudden terror … that will … cause the soul to pine away (Leviticus 26:14-16). Souls (our eternal, moral beings) that are hostile to Yehovah are separated from His love and “pine away.” The soul who sins will die (Ezekiel 18:4).

STRENGTH: When the spies returned from investigating the Promised Land they reported, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are too strong for us.” (Numbers 13:31). The people were discouraged and asked, “Why is Yehovah bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword?” (Numbers 14:3). They had forgotten how Yehovah had drowned Pharaoh’s army when they had no military training or equipment to fight against them.

These references are discouraging. However, we will next turn our attention to examples in the scripture of how an attack in one area of our fourfold existence was overcome by God giving strength in another area. Finally we will study how God protects and renews our heart, mind soul and strength when we are totally devoted to (love only) Him. Love God completely.